


Take us back

by Madame_Klancealot



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Arguing, Enemies to Friends, Fights, Friendship, Help, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Memories, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 20:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18454493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_Klancealot/pseuds/Madame_Klancealot
Summary: Lance and Keith are fighting as usual, but have to fly the red lion to a wormhole where they are both sucked into a past memory that can alter their view on each other.





	Take us back

**Author's Note:**

> Rated T - for some foul language is all.

“If you had stopped making goo goo eyes at those aliens, then we would have gotten out of that mess sooner!” Keith shouts at the blue paladin in his room.

 

Lance stutters a loud cry, crossing his arms before uncrossing them to point a brown finger at the red paladin in anger, “I had my bayard ready in case you guys needed assistance. It’s your fault that you didn’t call for me when you needed help, Mullet!” Lance turned around, not wanting to look at the black haired boy he called his rival, “If you’d stop thinking you can do everything by yourself, Shiro wouldn’t be in the healing pod….”

 

“Hey! That’s no fair...I was trying to lead all of the paladins and the lions to safety. You were gone, Lance. You were with that crowd of aliens showing off your stupid moves and smiles, when you could have been with us and help stop the fighting.” Keith’s voice sounded defeated, like what Lance told him was right, but he had to argue back at the tall boy, he wouldn’t let him make him feel bad for being their leader.

 

“You never asked for any assistance, leader! There’s no more to argue about, I’m done for tonight, get out of my sight…” Lance smacked the panel on his wall next to the door. A _whooshing_ sound came from the door as it slid open for Keith to get the hint and leave.

 

Keith kept his footing, not moving an inch, still staring at his comrade. “You need to understand, Lance. I always need your assistance, whether I tell you or not. You’re a paladin, and paladins know on instinct when to come for help. We were in danger. I was in danger, and I thought…” He closed his mouth, deciding not to press on any further of the matter. Lance wouldn’t understand, he thought as he made his way to the open door.

 

“Keith! Lonce! Get to the Red lion immediately!!” The alarm sounded in Lance’s room, lights flickering for them to find their gear and move.

 

“What about the Black lion!” Keith shouted in his intercom on his arm.

 

“It is vital that we only use the Red lion, I can’t explain further matters, just get to the lion now! Both of you!” Allura screamed through the intercom.

 

Lance and Keith stared at each other before sighing aggressively running towards Red. Keith ran past Lance on instinct as he was the lion’s previous pilot, feeling he should pilot her once again now that they both have to share the lion on this mission.

 

“Keith! Wait up, man! I need to jump first since I’m the pilot.” Lance shouted a few steps behind Keith as they ran to their jump point.

 

He ignored the blue paladin, jumping up to grab the handles to slide down to where Red was waiting for them. Within the matter of seconds, he was sitting in the pilot seat but Red stayed dead.

 

“Come on!” Keith commanded, but the panel kept off.

 

Lance followed suit, almost a minute behind Keith. When he landed in the cockpit, the look on his face when he took in Keith sitting on the pilot seat was one of full on betrayal.

 

“So, you don’t trust me piloting Red, do you?” He pulled the seat all the way around with the red paladin sitting in it.

 

Keith’s face went grim at Lance’s harsh words. He was right though, he knew what Lance was saying was truth. Keith and Red had a bond, they had a history before Keith had to take over the black lion when Shiro left them. Red needed to be tamed, and Lance wasn’t the right person to do it, thought Keith while looking closely at the blue paladin in front of him.

 

“I don’t. Trust you with her, that is. You’re too much for her, Lance. She needs...I don’t know someone like me, or Shiro to pilot her. I don’t know what she sees in you.” Keith felt a lump in his throat, instantly regretting his choice of words. There was no other way of phrasing his thought to the tan boy who now had a look of pure hurt finding his expression.

“Well you’re wrong, Keith. She responds fine to me. And sometimes when we connect, I can...I can hear your voice. Like you’re the one giving me orders, like we’re the ones who are bonding….and...I see clearer when I hear your voice. Leader. Now get out of my seat.” Lance took the seat when Keith stood up, shocked by his words. Lance didn’t look Keith in the eyes one second while he took over the pilot seat.

 

The more he thought about it, the more Lance’s words made sense. He had piloted the red lion before. It would only be natural if he heard his voice, wouldn't it. Could there be any other reason? He shook the thought and concentrated on Lance getting Red out of the castle of lions and towards the wormhole.

 

“Allura! We’re close to the wormhole, can you fill us in now?” Lance asked through the intercom, ignoring Keith standing next to him now.

 

Keith’s expression was hard to decipher. Either he was in a constant look of hatred, or he was always planning, always trying to think one step ahead of everything whether it mean danger or daily things. Lance knew he was a loner, and if he could keep away from people, including his fellow paladins and alteans, then he would be in a state of what could seem like happiness, or content.

 

Lance hated that Keith was an emo, loner kid. He could be a fun, decent guy whenever he loosened up. Like when they were at that one party a while ago. He had a couple fizzy drinks that made him giggle all night. Lance missed the boy he was then, he was open, himself, not afraid to talk to anyone, especially Lance. Whenever they were alone in his room, or in the control room, Keith would always find a hurtful word or two against him just to start a fight. Sometimes, Lance thought he would do it on purpose so that they could never become friends, that he was pushing him away.

 

“Lonce! Follow these coordinates when you’re inside the wormhole. It will lead you to the planet you need to lang on. There were two Glara cruisers spotted. Red is the only lion fast enough to catch up with them. Voltron needs to wait, we know you can….” Static sounded loudly from the speaker in the cockpit.

 

“Allura! Allura!” Lance yelled for her, but the intercom died, along with the rest of the room, the control panel and lastly Red herself.

 

“Now you’ve done it, Lance! You should have just let me pilot her. I know her better. I can control her better than you.”

 

“Oh yeah, because you’re Keith: the leader of Voltron, half Galran, a Blade of Marmora, Shiro’s kid brother, the star pilot from the garrison before you were expelled!” Lance’s dark voice had found a tone of pure jealousy.

 

Keith crossed his arms, trying to make out the blue paladin in the dim light. Red was out cold, and spinning slowly in the wormhole. It was only a matter of time before something was bound to happen. They had to get her up and running.

 

“Yeah! I am the leader of Voltron, Lance! Because you chickened out. You didn’t feel good enough. You...you coward.” Keith’s voice was barely audible at the end of his sentence, Lance falling back in the pilot seat in defeat, hurt written all over him.

 

“You’ve never considered us friends have you?” Lance then asked, his hands covering his face. Elbows resting on his knees. Weakness had found him, and Keith had no idea how to react. He knew his words hit him hard, but they had to be said. Lance had been wallowing in self-pity ever since he was given the position of leader. Keith thought Lance would make a fine leader, but he was too weak, too hard on himself. He was the only one to realize how good a paladin he was, no one else could help him with that.

 

“Lance...how...how could you even ask that?” Keith started, but was thrown to the back of the wall when Red was sling shot in the wormhole.

 

“Keith!?” Lance shouted, but was thrown out of the pilot seat and into the wall next to Keith.

 

Darkness encompassed them both.

 

* * *

 

Pain shot through Lance’s head as he tried to pry his eyes open from the sudden impact with the wall. When he finally regained his consciousness he was met with a room he hadn’t seen in a long time.

 

“Keith? Red? Where...where am I?” He questioned himself, looking around the white room with the familiar simulator pods he had trained in many times when he was a student at the Garrison.

 

Ten simulators were in use, a red light blinking outside them indicating they were in use. Besides him, he hadn’t noticed, stood Commander Iverson with the rest of his class from years ago.

 

“Commander!” Lance stood straight at the sight of him, his hands finding his head in a salute, but Iverson didn’t budge. He didn’t even notice Lance was standing right next to him.

 

Lance took a shot, waving his hand in front of his face. Nothing. He was rock hard, beefy arms crossed, staring coldly at the screens with faces Lance recognized. When he looked at the screens of those who were in a flying simulation, he picked out the faces of him as a thirteen year old, and Keith’s younger face on the screen next to him.

 

“Is this a dream?” Lance asked out loud, touching a tan hand to the two screens trying to make out how real everything was, “Have I been sent to the past? But, why can’t anyone see me?” His brows furrowed in curiosity.

 

_Simulation terminated._

 

“This is all your fault, Kogane! If you had just listened to me…” Lance recognized his own voice except it was a pitch tone lighter, still easing into puberty.

 

A younger version of Lance and Keith rushed out of the pods, Lance throwing angry hands at Keith, shouting at him like it were no surprise. Lance had to force a smile on his face as the sight of a younger version of him and Keith arguing wasn’t anything new.

 

“Will you can it, already. Why the hell do you even care? As long as you pass the test, you don’t need to whine at me…” Keith shot out at Lance, his hands turned into fists on either side of his hips.

 

Lance found it odd to see how short Keith’s mullet was, and that his hands were glove-less. The younger version of Lance stomped out frustrated, rushing out of the room. Lance wanted to follow the younger version of himself, but he felt more tempted to see what Keith was going to do after their small falling out. Like did Keith even know who he was back then? Lance had seen Keith as a rival already back at the Garrison, he was someone Lance looked up to, a fine pilot in Lance’s opinion, even back then but he never had the courage to tell him face to face.

 

Lance followed the younger version of Keith outside of the simulation room. Keith stomped angrily to his room. Lance managed to sneak in with him without being locked out. He found a spot on Keith’s bed, hoping this was what he was supposed to do.

 

“Stupid Lance. Stupid simulation.” Younger Keith started. He sat down on the bed, next to older Lance. His hand holding something he found in his room.

 

Lance made a surprised look when he saw that Keith was holding something Lance thought he had lost when he was thirteen. It was a picture of him and his mama. He found it odd that Keith had held on to a photo of Lance and his mama in it, but after getting to know Keith when they became paladins, he fully understood now why his photo had been snagged by the moody emo kid.

 

“He has no reason to be angry with me.” Keith stared angrily at the photo.

 

Lance was eight in the photo, his mama holding him close to her, squishing their faces close together, smiling widely with the sun shining in the background, flowers everywhere. Lance was able to see a gleam in Keith’s dark eyes. He wanted to plant a hand on his back, but the younger version of the red paladin wouldn’t feel a thing.

 

Keith gently stroked a thumb over Lance’s face on the photo. “He has a family who loves him. He has no idea how important it is for me to be the best at something. He’s already the best. He’s the best son. Me...I have no one, no one to show who’s the best, except for myself….He seems like a great guy, someone who could be a great friend, but…” Tears spilled from younger Keith’s face. Tear droplets fell one at a time on the floor, causing dark rings to appear.

 

“I can’t though...be friends with him. I have to best him. My rival. He already has everything. I deserve at least something, too.” Keith wiped away his tears, leaving the room.

 

Lance stood up to follow after the younger boy, but was hit in the back of his head with a sharp pain, darkness finding him again.

* * *

 

 

 

Keith woke up to a familiar room. One he hadn’t been in in years. Staring at the simulation pods brought up hurtful memories. Memories of a time where he was more angry than he is today as a paladin. Memories of losing a father, having no mother, having a brother who forced you to become a cadet when he knew well he wouldn’t belong.

 

His feet found the floor, his face looking around the room. The pods were in session, a red light blinking on and off. Iverson was standing by the monitors, staring intently at the cadets in action.

 

Keith made his way over to Iverson, ready to tear him a new one after he expelled Keith’s ass from the Garrison. When his had made its way to Iverson’s face, a force pushed his hand back almost like there was barrier. Iverson hadn’t even noticed Keith’s hand nearing him. Not only that, when Keith tried to wave a hand in his face, his eyes were still set on the monitors.

 

“Weird…” Keith whispered.

 

The simulation pods lit green, opening up with angry cadets shouting at each other. Younger versions of himself and Lance rushed out of the pods. Had Keith been sent to the past? He moved to let the two boys arguing walk past him.

“This is all your fault, Kogane! If you had just listened to me…” The younger version of Lance shouted behind his younger self. Keith took in the younger version of the blue paladin. How his cheeks were more filling, his freckles all over his face from the summer shine of the sun. He was shorter than he is now, a smile tugging at Keith’s lips knowing how much taller he was today.

 

Keith furrowed his bushy brows at the younger version of himself, how angry he looked at Lance, but he knew it wasn’t anger, it was sadness. Pure jealousy.

 

“Will you can it, already. Why the hell do you even care? As long as you pass the test, you don’t need to whine at me…” His younger self shot back at Lance. Keith felt slapping himself, wanting to yell at him that he needed Lance. That Lance would become an important person to him in the future, to not push him away…

 

Lance took in the harsh words of his younger self, storming out of the simulation hall in a hot flurry. Keith felt like following his younger self, but there was a weird pull at the younger version of the blue paladin. Keith decided to follow Lance.

 

He followed Lance to his room, able to sneak in without being locked out. Lance had rummaged in his room, kicking at his things. Keith found a comfortable spot on his bed, wondering why he had been sent back to this specific memory. He knew it was because of the wormhole, it had to be the only explanation.

 

Lance had found a spot next to Keith, holding something in his hands. Keith stared down at his smaller hands, cradling a lighter. Memories of his father flooded in his mind, the lighter he always used when he ever felt stressed enough to have a cigarette. It was his favorite lighter, and the last thing Keith had to remember him by, except for the day it fell out of his pocket, lost forever.

 

But it wasn’t lost, Lance had it all along. Why? Keith was thinking, looking at the boy staring fondly at the lighter. Did he steal it from him? Find it, but decided to keep it to make him pine over it? No. He had no idea what kind of worth the lighter had to Keith, so he kept still waiting to see if Lance would do anything with the lighter in his hands.

 

“Stupid Keith. He...He has no idea how to lead a squad…” Lance mumbled, lighting the lighter on, then killing the flame, “If only he wasn’t so angry all the time...if only...if only I had the gut to ask him why he had this on him. I feel bad keeping it from him, it does seem important, but if he doesn’t want to be friends, I’ll have to need something to remember him by when we leave the academy. Man, he’s such a fine pilot. I wish I could be only a smidge as good as him. He’s cool, collective, a bit of a hot head though.” Lance then chuckled to himself, staring at the lighter, holding it close to his face, “I’ll give it to him the day we finally become friends because I know that day will come. Just you wait, Mullet.”

 

Keith felt heavy. His heart beating rapidly, eyes closing by force. A pain jolted at the back of his head, dragging him back to the darkness.

 

* * *

 

A groan left the two boys lying on the floor of the cockpit, “Fuck, my head….” Lance said first.

 

“What the hell happened….?” Keith groaned out, rising on to all fours, taking in the blue paladin mirroring his position.

 

“Keith? That you? Like you, you?” Lance fell on his backside, crossing his legs like a little kid.

 

"Yeah, it's me. Are you, you?" Keith asked, still groaning from a splitting headache.

 

“What? Of course it’s me, Mullet. Who else...wait a minute. Did you see?” Lance asked, grabbing Keith’s hand to pull him up in the same sitting position as Lance.

 

They sat across from each other staring each other down. Keith nodded once Lance’s question found his ears, “Yeah...simulation room?” Keith asked.

 

Lance cocked a thin brown brow, nodding slowly, “So..who did you follow?” He asked, crossing his arms, blue eyes moving slowly away from Keith’s stare.

 

“Do you still have it?” Keith then asked, ignoring Lance’s question, but at the same time answering it.

 

“Do you still have it?” Lance asked back, the photo of him and his mama finding his memory.

 

They both took a deep breath. At the slow release they both nodded.

 

“Yeah, I still have the lighter. Is it important?” Lance asked, a face of apology finding him.

 

Keith could feel the apology reaching him, Lance’s blue eyes turning into an ocean he often waded into to calm himself whenever he remembered his father. “It was, but you can keep it, if you want to.” He admitted, knowing that if Lance had kept it all of these years, he would still keep it for many more to come.

 

“I said once that I would give it back if we ever became friends..” Lance breathed out, looking down at the floor.  

 

“We are, Lance. I mean. I want to be your friend.” Keith smiled.

 

“You’re just saying that so that I can give you your lighter back.” Lance smirked.

 

Keith shook his head, “No, I mean it. I want us to be friends, and for you to keep the lighter. It means the world to me, and it belongs with you. My current world.” He felt his cheeks redden with heat at what he said.

 

“You smooth fuck.” Lance chided, “My picture. The one of me and mama...you can keep it, too. My mama means everything to me, but, so do you. Also if it was a family you were looking for, Mullet. You don’t need to look any further.” Lance fell forward on his hands, before reaching one of his arms to the back of Keith’s head, pulling him close to Lance.

 

Both of Lance's arms had found their way around Keith's neck, breathing in the scent of the blue paladin. He was warm underneath his paladin armor, his face bursting with heat when their cheeks met. Keith slung his own arms around Lance, tears threatening to leave his eyes.

 

“Thank you, Lance. For being you. For being my fellow paladin, my friend, and my entire world.” Keith said, his face resting gently in the crook between Lance's shoulder and neck. 

 

“Any time, Mullet. Any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> very rushly done, I'll fix mistakes later.


End file.
